Hundreds raised for typhoon-hit school in the Philippines

The Cake Sale outside the A & I Oriental Food Store in Bracknell raised £500 for a school in the Philippines

Filipinos, families and friends have backed a drive to raise money for people devastated by one of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded in the Philippines.

A cake sale organised by Katrina Santiago-Brown raised more than £500 at A&I Oriental Foods, Market Street, Bracknell on Saturday.

Filipino Mrs Santiago-Brown, of Wiltshire Avenue, Crowthorne, launched an appeal with friend Karen Procter, of New Wokingham Road, Crowthorne, after Typhoon Haiyan hit Mrs Santiago-Brown’s home country on Friday, November 8.

The 31-year-old said: “The cake sale went very well. We raised a total of £850 on Saturday as we also raised money at my home in the afternoon.”

This brings the fundraising total to more than £2,000, which Mrs Santiago-Brown is sending to her mother Daphne in her home town Tacloban.

The mum-of-two, who moved to Crowthorne from the Philippines in 2008, said: “After distributing relief supplies, the response teams are starting to reach people so we have now focused our funds in rehabilitation.

Money raised will be used to help the Philippine Science High School – Eastern Visayas Campus (PSHS-EVC) – a special school providing scholarships to students with high aptitude in both science and mathematics.

Mrs Santiago-Brown added: “The sooner the school gets up and running, the quicker the students can go back to school and finish their studies.”

The school was used as an emergency shelter during the storm, but although some of the buildings remain, the roofs need to be replaced and teachers’ houses rebuilt.

Nearly 4,000 people are estimated to have died when Typhoon Haiyan brought winds of 147mph, with gusts of 170mph and waves as high as 15m (45ft). Now the focus is on rehabilitating the people whose homes were ripped apart.

Mrs Santiago-Brown: “Thank you to all who gave generously at the cake sale. Every penny means so much.”